Zexion's heart was pounding in his chest as he ran from his red-headed pursuer, each individual beat in synch with his bare feet as they hit the hard asphalt of the street. He knew he would be sore later if he evaded the red-head, and would be even worse for wear If Axel caught him. It seemed all he knew was the fear and adrenaline pulsing through his veins mixed with his thoughts of evading Axel. Getting away was his top priority- next to staying alive, of course.

It seemed that the odds were against him as he tripped on a huge crack in the street. He flailed, and cried out as everything seemed to happen in slow motion. His eyes widened while the air he fell through rushed passed him. His eyes closed tightly right before he made contact with the hard surface of the street. Pain exploded in his head, having fallen face first. Whoever said cats always land on their feet was a huge liar, or apparently that gene obviously hadn't been passed on to him.

He quickly scrambled back to his feet as his mind urged him to run. However, his feet were frozen to the spot as he felt something warm and wet begin to slide from his nose, over his lips, and eventually drip from his chin. His tongue darted out, and his eyes widened at the taste of iron; He was bleeding.

The mere thought of the blood running down his face brought him back to reality; back to the reality that he was still being chased. His ears twitched before pressing down flat against his head again. He somehow willed himself to go back to running, highly unwilling to face the red-head and his anger.

Sadly, his little slip up gave Axel time to catch up, and the red-head was at least fifteen feet behind him by now, with Demyx still in tow, persistent as ever with his desperate shouts for them to stop.

Axel's confidence in catching up with the little freak suddenly took a huge blow as his ability to breathe correctly was quickly declining. He was beginning to regret not listening to Demyx and Roxas during all those lectures they gave him about what his habit of smoking could do to him. But what could he say? Addiction was a powerful thing, it was controlling him. He saw Zexion trip and fall, and knew it was now or never. This would be his only chance to catch up before his lungs got the best of him.

He coughed a bit as he started to run at top speed, the distance between him and the smaller teen shrinking rapidly. He clutched his chest and his eyes widened as he was thrown into a huge coughing fit just as he was about to grab the back of Zexion's borrowed jacket and drag him down. He fell to his knees and the little mutant got away. He would have growled of cursed in anger if he weren't so busy coughing and trying to catch his breath.

Over the sound of his coughing, he could hear Demyx stop his shouting before dropping down to the street next to him. He felt the blonde begin to pat him roughly on the back in an attempt to bring him out of his coughing fit. After a few minutes, it worked.

"God dammit, Demyx! The little ass-wipe got away!" Axel yelled angrily now that he was able to speak, glaring off into the direction Zexion had disappeared, still clutching at his chest.

Demyx cringed at Axel's foul language, especially since he was referring to Zexion with it.

"Just let it go, Axel..!" Demyx quickly piped up, "He didn't mean to hurt you! You probably scared him half to death!"

Axel got back up and shoved Demyx away from him before crossing his arms over his chest, and glaring at the blonde for a few moments. He simply growled before turning to the left, and stalking off towards his own home, taking a little alley between two clusters of houses.

Demyx could only stare in shock at the spot Axel had just been standing, his arms dangling limply at his sides like noodles. He heard footsteps coming up behind him at a quick pace, and his older sister calling out to him. Axel was beyond angry at him, and Zexion had run off to who-knows-where.

Zexion hugged his knees to his chest as he hid in the shade behind a dumpster at the backdoor of an old rundown Chinese buffet. His nose had finally stopped bleeding, but now it ached. He hoped he hadn't broken it! He stared down at his hands, caked with dried blood and dirt now. There was no way he could return to Demyx's house now. Not with the possibility of Axel being there! He felt a few salty tears sting at the back of his eyes, threatening to spill free. He sniffled a bit, trying to hold them back while his stomach quietly growled.

The smell wafting from the back door of the old buffet seemed pretty inviting right about now… Would he risk going in?